Background

Because COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March 2020, nearly 93% of U.S. students engaged in some distance learning. These school disruptions may negatively influence adolescent mental health. Protective factors, like feeling connected to family or school may demonstrate a buffering effect, potentially moderating negative mental health outcomes. The purpose of the study is to test our hypothesis that mode of school instruction influences mental health and determine if school and family connectedness attenuates these relationships.

Methods

The COVID Experiences Survey was administered online or via telephone from October to November 2020 in adolescents ages 13–19 using National Opinion Research Center’s AmeriSpeak Panel, a probability-based panel recruited using random address–based sampling with mail and telephone nonresponse follow-up. The final sample included 567 adolescents in grades 7–12 who received virtual, in-person, or combined instruction. Unadjusted and adjusted associations among four mental health outcomes and instruction mode were measured, and associations with school and family connectedness were explored for protective effects.

Results

Students attending school virtually reported poorer mental health than students attending in-person. Adolescents receiving virtual instruction reported more mentally unhealthy days, more persistent symptoms of depression, and a greater likelihood of seriously considering attempting suicide than students in other modes of instruction. After demographic adjustments school and family connectedness each mitigated the association between virtual versus in-person instruction for all four mental health indicators.

Conclusion

As hypothesized, mode of school instruction was associated with mental health outcomes, with adolescents receiving in-person instruction reporting the lowest prevalence of negative mental health indicators. School and family connectedness may play a critical role in buffering negative mental health outcomes.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 期间的青少年心理健康、联系和学校教学模式

背景

由于 COVID-19 在 2020 年 3 月被宣布为大流行病，近 93% 的美国学生参与了远程学习。这些学校中断可能会对青少年的心理健康产生负面影响。保护因素，例如与家庭或学校的联系可能会显示出缓冲作用，可能会减轻负面的心理健康结果。该研究的目的是检验我们的假设，即学校教学模式会影响心理健康，并确定学校和家庭的联系是否削弱了这些关系。

方法

COVID 体验调查于 2020 年 10 月至 2020 年 11 月期间在 13 至 19 岁的青少年中在线或通过电话进行，使用国家民意研究中心的 AmeriSpeak 小组，这是一个基于概率的小组，使用基于随机地址的抽样招募，并进行邮件和电话无回复跟进。最终样本包括 567 名 7-12 年级的青少年，他们接受了虚拟、面对面或联合教学。测量了四种心理健康结果和教学模式之间未调整和调整后的关联，并探索了与学校和家庭联系的关联以获得保护效果。

结果

实际上，上学的学生比亲自上学的学生报告的心理健康状况更差。与接受其他教学方式的学生相比，接受虚拟教学的青少年精神不健康的日子更多，抑郁症状更持久，并且认真考虑尝试自杀的可能性更大。在人口调整后，学校和家庭的联系都减轻了所有四个心理健康指标的虚拟教学与面对面教学之间的关联。

结论

正如假设的那样，学校教学模式与心理健康结果相关，接受面对面教学的青少年报告的负面心理健康指标发生率最低。学校和家庭的联系可能在缓冲负面的心理健康结果方面发挥关键作用。